The American dream has lured many a young Indian into trying to find a foothold in the faraway land that promises a better future. While some manage to achieve it all, others return empty-handed. The recently-released movie For Here or To Go? captures the tensions brewed by broken dreams, and it’s been receiving rave reviews from all quarters.
The film, which stars Ali Fazal, Rajit Kapur, Omi Vaidya, Melanie Chandra, Samrat Chakrabarti and Amitosh Nagpal, has been directed by Hyderabad-born Rucha Humnabadkar. And the Hyderabad connection doesn’t end there. Radhika Reddy, another Hyderabadi, is one of its producers.
Talking about how they met and how the film fell into place, Radhika, a former student of CBIT Engineering College, says, “One of my goals is to become a movie director. I want to direct one movie in my lifetime, but I haven’t been able to pursue my dream until now because of my career and family obligations. As luck would have it, I ran into Rucha and was truly inspired by her story. It was very compelling, as it resonated with what every Indian goes through when one first lands on American soil.”
A resident of California, Radhika jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the project. “As 99% of the movie was being shot in California, I decided to join the team as a co-producer. It has been an incredible ride so far, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of this amazing journey. The other motivating factor was that Rucha was also from Hyderabad, plus she’s a woman director!”
Rucha was first exposed to theatre and acting while studying in Nasr School in Hyderabad. “We staged a play every year, and that was my first brush with the art of storytelling. After Nasr, I studied at St Francis College. There, I missed having a theatre club and decided to start one of my own, Confetti. One of the theatre workshops for my club was conducted by a lady who knew Nagesh Kukunoor. He was looking for a cast and crew for Hyderabad Blues. I was introduced to him, and I got to work on the project,” she says.
After Hyderabad Blues, Rucha went on to work with Kukunoor on Rockford and Bollywood Calling as an assistant director and art director. Her love and passion for filmmaking have now culminated in For Here or To Go? a project for which she raised funds from friends, acquaintances and a crowdfunding campaign. She sees this movie as an attempt to humanise the immigration debate. “I was introduced to the writer, Rishi Bhilawadikar, through a common friend, based on our mutual interest in filmmaking. During the script reading, I saw a reflection of my personal journey from a student on an F1 visa, to a green card holder, and finally, a citizen of the USA. The experiences in the story are not just mine, but those of my friends and family as well. That’s what led me to direct the film,” says Rucha.
During the development of the script, the team spent time interviewing several Indian immigrant families, young professionals, and students living in the San Francisco Bay area to capture of a cross-section of the stories of the diverse diaspora. Now, the team is all pumped up for reviews from Indian audience.
